The Village of Lewiston Board of Trustees will
hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday. The Lewiston Police
Department is not on the agenda, but the LPD-village stalemate over
funding is on the minds of many.

"Please come and express your concerns over
village public safety cuts," read a notice posted this week on
LPD's Facebook page.

Following the Thursday, Oct. 4, meeting of the
Village Board with the Niagara County Sheriff's Office to discuss
the alternatives (Sentinel, Oct. 6), Mayor Terry Collesano, village
trustees, Clerk Ann Welch and village attorneys met Tuesday with LPD
Chief Chris Salada and Sgt. Frank Previte III. "We were able to air
a lot of our ... miscommunications ... things we weren't aware of,
(have) each of our priorities" addressed," said Salada. "Overall
it was a good meeting. (But) no commitments were made."

Salada said last Thursday's meeting with Niagara
County Sheriff James Voutour and Undersheriff Michael Filicetti
discussed alternatives to LPD patrols. The "sheriff offered them a
package deal; they could take different packages for different
amounts of coverage." Salada said the village didn't provide him
any details of the meeting.

Tuesday's session with the village had its focus
on LPD costs and Salada said overall it was productive.

"They asked where I could make cuts in my
budget, cut where I can. I told them I've been trying to do that,
cut where I can."

Regarding any possible department cuts, Salada
didn't elaborate, but said, "The last place I want to cut is cars
on the road. That's our most important service."

Currently, LPD operates two one-officer patrol
cars 24/7 - one in its northern zone, an area below the hill and
including the village - the other being the southern zone above the
hill and including such areas as Niagara University, the hamlet of
Sanborn, Saunders Settlement Road and the Tuscarora Indian Nation
areas. Of the two, he describes the village as the busiest for the
northern zone, while all areas are busy in the southern zone. "We're
a busy department for a town-village police department," said
Salada.

He said LPD has responded to 1,540 calls to date
in the Village of Lewiston alone. He also said village officials told
him they had no problem whatsoever with current LPD patrols and that
performance wasn't an issue.

Of complaints to the board that LPD wasn't
visible on village streets, Salada disputed that. "I don't know
how that's possible (that) they're seeing less patrols.

"If they are, I wish they would direct them
(complaints) to me," said Salada. "I would explain that with our
patrols, in no way are they being neglected."

He said the department continues to operate
efficiently, equipment-wise, noting that past purchases such as its
Segway two-wheeler, off-road vehicles, LPD's new K-9 Chevy SUV now
being acquired, and other patrol cars are all funded through grant
money. He said LPD patrol cars are typically leased for a period of
three years, and then owned by the department. "It costs us
nothing," Salada said of LPD's equipment expenses. "It doesn't
come out of our budget."

He
said both sides (LPD and the village) were in agreement on a major
cost contributor Tuesday - the ever-growing activity in the
village. "They focused on the festivals. They realize that the
multiple festivals they have ... are growing, but so are the costs."

Salada
said he and the village board discussed "avenues" aimed at better
covering costs and that festival and/or event organizers might be
asked to bear greater portions of LPD expenses. He noted that LPD
personnel costs vary greatly depending on the type of festival/event
they cover. Artpark concerts, for example, typically see 12 Lewiston
officers - full and part-timers, plus extras, assigned to cover
Tuesday and Wednesday concerts plus other Artpark concert events as
needed. All this is in addition to the LPD's regular north and
south zone patrols.

Salada
said LPD's annual budget with the Town of Lewiston for a
consolidated town-village police department totals $1.3 million. Of
that, he said the village contributes 23 percent to the town on an
annual basis. Salada furnished a sheet this week from Village Deputy
Treasurer Karen Goodman showing two payments thus far of $120,381.04
made to the town. He said he raised issue to contentions that were
made in the Oct. 6 Sentinel by Collesano of "paying nearly
$300,000" to the town for LPD services. Village officials told
Salada Tuesday, "We'll have to look at it."

When
asked about that figure this week, Collesano confirmed the two
payments. But he added, "We haven't paid everything yet; we pay
three times a year."

Collesano
went on to explain that the village and town's budget cycles
differ, with the town's being December to January and the village
being May to June. "There's an overlap," he said.

"The
budget total amount is $294,500. That's the total budget, that's
what we pay. We haven't paid the whole thing yet, we have to
December to make the next payment."

Collesano
said the town sends an invoice to the village and then a payment is
made. Of the figure furnished to Salada, he added, "I only gave him
what we paid, we're not done paying."

Next,
Salada turned his attention to revenue to village coffers from LPD
enforcement activity, which he said was considerable. He said that
from June 2011 to May 2012, revenues from LPD enforcement activity in
the village, such as parking tickets issued, open container
violations and traffic enforcement fines amounted to $18,000, money
that went to the village general fund. This year, from June 1 to Aug.
28, that amount was $4,000.

He
noted that event/festival personnel expenses for the department vary,
with lighter events such as the Garden Fest having smaller LPD
patrols, and bigger events requiring increased patrols such as the
Lewiston Art Festival, or the Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival. Salada
described the Jazz Fest as "an evening event, with alcohol and more
outside visitors" and one that sees up to eight officers assigned
to patrol. Again this is in addition to manning the department's
regular north and south zones.

"We
feel probably one of the biggest problems we have is all these
different festivals," said Collesano, adding the village asked
Salada for a breakdown of LPD overtime costs. "The biggest is
Artpark; we don't get anything. By rights we should be getting 23
percent.

"We
can't do this on our own. Costs just keep going up and up,"
Collesano said.

Salada
said he and the village would like to see some type of financial
assistance provided by event organizers to cover department personnel
costs, such as those provided by Lewiston Kiwanis for the Peach
Festival, the separate hiring of private security by Dimino's
Lewiston Tops (also for the Peach Festival) or assistance such as is
being provided this weekend by the Historical Association of the
Lewiston to cover the War of 1812 binational events in the village.

Of
reactions thus far, Salada said that throughout the week LPD's
Facebook page has received a number of responses from residents,
businesses and others - all in support of the department's
situation with the village. A sampling of comments include:

•"I
support Chris Salada and the rest of the LPD."

•"I
grew up in Lewiston, and our police officers have always been pillars
in the community. I remember them being our DARE community and
sitting next to them in church. I had the help of a policeman
immediately when I was 11 and got hit by a car on my bike. I remember
receiving my first ticket for blowing a stop sign on Ninth and
Oneida. They don't just sit in their cruisers with radars, their
presence at the Peach Festival, 'Tuesday in the Park,' and other
events gives a vibe of safety that cannot be matched in other
communities. Not to mention the presence of LPD keeps drunk drivers
off the road. The local bars bring in traffic from NU, events such as
Artpark concerts and various festivals attract traffic from who ever
knows where. It is bad enough that said tourists are so disrespectful
to the residents of the community, let's not make the presence of
public servants scarce as well."

•"My
mother lives on Center Street and owns a business on Center Street,
and I always know she is safe at 5 a.m. when she is opening up her
business because these guys are always there to watch out for her. I
have a 14-year-old sister who thinks she is invincible, but I never
worry about her being home by herself due to Lewiston being such a
safely patrolled area with its own police force."

•"I
currently live by myself in a rural area that is protected by state
troopers and Niagara County Sheriffs, and I honestly wouldn't know
who to call if I ever had an emergency."

•"I
can think of areas that maybe should downsize on police officers, but
I do not find Lewiston to be one of them."

Summing
up the Village Board, Salada commented, "They're more than happy
with our service; it just boils down to the bottom line for them."

"Hopefully,
it can be resolved," said Collesano. "The sticking point is the
cost." He said the village did comparisons with other similar sized
villages such as Youngstown and Barker and said Lewiston far exceeds
others, again pointing to the festival and Artpark costs that need to
be addressed.

"We
want to keep this relationship," said Salada. "We want to patrol
the village, do the best job we can for them, we have an interest
here, we live here. I'm going to do everything I can to be fiscally
responsible, as I have been all along."

The
village is expected to meet on Oct. 29 with Town of Lewiston
Supervisor Steve Reiter and the Town Board to discuss the LPD matter
further as the town finalizes its 2013 budget.

"Hopefully
it will all be worked out, and we'll continue what we're doing,"
Salada closed.